Report: Villanova's Big East vote delayed

UCF waits

April 11, 2011|By From the Web

Villanova is delaying a vote on joining the Big East in football due to conference concerns over the size of the venue where it would potentially play, the Philadelphia Inquirer is reporting citing an anonymous source.

The Big East announced plans to expand from eight football-playing members to 10 football-playing members in November. A month later, TCU accepted an invitation to join the conference in all sports.

Villanova, a member of the Big East in all sports except football, currently competes on the Football Championship Subdivision level. In September, league officials asked Villanova to consider moving up to the Football Bowl Subdivision level. The move would add to the small football lineup without expanding the basketball playing membership that included 16 schools before TCU joined the Big East.

Villanova spent months weighing its options and seemed to be inching closer to joining the Big East in football to help protect the future of its basketball program, which could be left behind if the Big East football schools eventually decided to break away from the basketball playing members.

School leaders decided to use 18,500-seat PPL Park in Chester, Pa., as the Wildcats' home venue if Villanova jumped to the FBS level. While the stadium would meet minimum NCAA requirements, it would be the smallest venue in the Big East. The stadium could be expanded to seat up to 30,000 people in the future.

Villanova was scheduled to formally vote on joining the Big East in football Tuesday. Current Big East members met Sunday to discuss Villanova's transition plan and objected to playing in such a small venue, according to the Inquirer. The newspaper reports some Big East football members are in favor of Villanova moving up and the school's plan could still be approved.

VUHoops.com reports Pittsburgh was among the most vocal critics of Villanova's stadium plans and Villanova administrators were aware of the objections since at least late February.

What does this mean for UCF?

The Big East shown no signs of moving beyond 10 football-playing members before June 30. If Villanova is not approved as one of the 10, it opens the door for the Knights to potentially join the league. UCF has been cited as one of the top candidates to join the conference. If Villanova moves up, many within the Big East continue to support eventually expanding to 12 football playing members. If the conference continues expansion in the future, UCF would once again be one of the top candidates to join the league.